Little White Lies
by 2sidedstoryteller29995
Summary: Most parents are willing to do anything to enable their child to succeed. But where do you draw the line? Is it when the child ceases to be yours?


"_Thank God you inherited your mother's brains"- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_

Entering the kitchen Ron saw his son and niece, sprawled across the floor, constructing what looked something like a tower with their blocks. After a quick hello, he was quickly roped in to helping them. Taking the block Hugo offered, he found a place for it among the others.

"Do you think that's a good place to put it, Lily?" He asked his niece. She shook her head vigorously.

"No!"

"No?'He tickled her as he spoke. She squirmed around, unable to talk because she was giggling so much.

He turned to Hugo "Maybe we should knock it down then?" His son was very happy to oblige. "Now, who could we ask about building?" Lily wasn't too sure, but Hugo knew the answer.

"Mummy!" Ron nodded.

"That's right. She'll know alright. Do you think I should ask her?" With their encouragement, he got up from the floor and went to his wife. He kissed her hello, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You know, I think Hugo got your brains as well. According to him, you know all about building things. I think he's probably right. I wouldn't be surprised if you read about it in _Hogwarts a History_."

Ginny snorted. Ron turned to face his little sister for the first time "Do us a favour and let us in on the joke, would you?" She exchanged a knowing look with Hermione.

"I think we had better wait for Harry," she replied. Ron looked from one to the other.

"Harry's coming over?" Hermione nodded. Neither of them said anything, but the room wasn't silent for long. _Speak of the devil. _The crack of apparition was soon followed by the sound of Lily greeting her Daddy. He picked her up and came over to join them, kissing Ginny on the cheek.

"I got your note. What's up?" Seeing him, Hermione suddenly looked rather nervous. She asked that they all move to the sitting room. Harry put Lily down next to her cousin and did as he was told. The others followed suit. Ron noticed that Ginny was no longer laughing.

X

After a little while they were all settled in a circle of sorts. Ron took an armchair, as did Hermione. Harry and Ginny sat together on the sofa. Ron noticed the way that Hermione played with the tassel of the multi-coloured throw, which hung over the chair. He saw the way that Ginny continuously rearranged the cushions on the sofa, unable to find a comfortable spot. Harry was the first to speak, repeating his earlier question.

"Do you remember how I was going into London today to get the forms to register the kids for school in September?" They all nodded. They had spent a lot of time thinking over their options when it came to educating Rose. They had decided to send her to the Primary School that Hermione had attended when she was younger. When they mentioned this to Harry and Ginny, they jumped at the chance to send Albus too.

"Well, things didn't quite go to plan..."

Hermione had apparated onto the school grounds during her lunch hour. She went to the office and spoke with the secretary. The secretary handed her two forms, and asked her name, certain that she recognised her from somewhere. It was when Hermione admitted who she was that things started to go wrong. The secretary, an elderly woman with grey hair tied back in a loose ponytail, exclaimed that she could remember her well.

All the noise attracted the attention of the principal in the adjoining office. Miss Hawkridge, came out. She instantly recognised her. As a young teacher, fresh out of university, she was delighted to find a little girl so eager to learn. In all her years teaching, she never forgot a face and she could still remember Hermione with bushy hair and buck teeth, sitting at the top of the class with her hand waving, wanting to be picked to answer the next question.

At her teacher's insistence, Hermione sat and had tea with her and they had a look through the class photographs taken of all the children of Year Six on their last day at school. After that, though she tried to prevent it from happening, talk turned to Hermione and the sort of life she had meant for herself since they had last seen each other.

Upon hearing that she had children, Miss Hawkridge was delighted. She could still remember Hermione was the sort of girl who preferred to read, rather than skip or play hopscotch with the other children at break-time. Many children were scared to approach her because of her intellectual superiority. She had no siblings and so she often spent a lot of time in the company of adults rather than her own peers. It was a source of joy for Miss Hawkridge to discover that she had found someone to be with and had decided to raise a family. She was sure they would have no problem finding a place for her child at the school.

X

"I don't see what the problem is," Ron muttered. There seemed to be nothing fishy about the two of them raising a family together. _It was what they were doing, wasn't it? _

"Well, that's because she's not finished yet, you idiot. We haven't even got to the bit about the new addition yet." Ron glanced at his sister in confusion. He then reached down and scratched Jazz behind the ear. The ginger pussycat, wound herself around his legs, purring happily.

"Did you pick up a stray on the way home or something?" He asked his wife. "We've plenty of room, if you wanted another one," he said good-naturedly.

"No Ron," she whispered. "That's not it."

X

When Miss Hawkridge said that, Hermione felt obliged to correct her. To tell her that she needed two registration forms for two kids. The only problem was that when she said so, it came out sounding as though they were _her _two kids. By the time she realised her mistake it was too late. Miss Hawkridge was already asking about them and her family. _Was she a stay at home mother or a working mum? _

Hermione told her that she worked as a barrister for the British Government.

_Your parents they're in good health? _

Hermione assured her that they were.

_Are they hands-on grandparents? As you know, it's part of our ethos to involve all family members in the education of the children as much as possible. _

Yes, they were very much involved in her children's lives.

_Their father, what field does he work in? _

That was when the trouble really started. Both the Potters and the Weasleys knew that they could encounter some trouble, when registering the children, as it would be impossible to put down their names as Rose Mary Weasley and Albus Severus Potter without raising eyebrows. Even though the Harry Potter was winding down- with the second part of the concluding film to be aired in July- it was still widely considered the most loyal fan base in the whole world. It was very likely that some children in their class would be Harry Potter fans already, as their parents had been. One of the main reasons they decided to send their children to a Muggle primary school was so that they would have a better chance of staying out of the limelight. They weren't quite sure what to about it, though in the end they decided that they would cross that bridge when they came to it. Once they got the forms, they would figure something out.

When Hermione started school, none of the teachers questioned her name. They all knew that her parents, past pupils of the school, were not only well regarded dentists, they were also extremely well read people. Granger, while by no means a common surname, was not unheard of either. Everyone who knew Hermione's parents knew why she got the name that she did. Her parents had a great love of Greek mythology and they couldn't find anything they liked among the names listed in baby books.

Whereas, these days if anyone said their name was Hermione Granger, everyone automatically thought they were simply pretending to be the heroine from the Harry Potter book series. Even Teddy had written to her during his First Year to tell her that there was a girl called Hermione in his House. After WWII (the second wizarding war), people who gave birth were so glad their children could live in peace thanks to the 'Golden Trio' that they often chose to name their children either Harry, Ronald or Hermione.

When Hermione was questioned as to the profession of the father of her children, she hesitated. Thinking on her feet, she had managed to come up with a believable story. The little white lies tumbled from her mouth one after the other.

She told her, that as far as she knew he was a gardener. She explained that she did know him personally. To her, though he was the father of her children, he was in fact a strange;. a name in a book and more importantly, a sperm donor.

She sat in that office and told a blatant lie after blatant lie. She told herself that it was for the good of the children. She told her that she had undergone artificial insemination in order to be a mother.

She hoped to enrol her two eldest Rose Mary and Alfred John It was them at the school. Her daughter's first name was a tribute to her 'father', her middle name a tribute to her grandmother, while her brother's first name was a tribute to his great-grandfather and his middle name a tribute to his grandfather.

_Granddad Alfred was educated here too, back in his day. He served in the Second World War My son, he's proud of him, but he detests the name his name. He refuses to answer to anything but Al. _

Then, in August 2008, along came a set of siblings. Lily- another flower name- and Hugo- named after his great- grandfather on his mother's side. _Although, as they're still quite young, I haven't given any thought as to where I'll send them to school just yet. _

Rose, Al, Hugo and Lily Granger living with their mother and grandparents in the flat above the Grangers' dentistry practice.

X

Ron didn't need to hear anymore. He got up and walked away. Hermione called after him, but he did not turn around.

"I had to tell her I was still living at home because they needed a contact phone-number..." She tried her best to explain, but she knew it was in vain. Harry gave a sympathetic pat on the arm.

"At least _some _of it was true, it could have been worse," they consoled her. However, it wasn't her who needed consoling. It was Ron.

They had been together over ten years. In that space of time, they had fought many times. Each time, it would be the same. Ron would disappear for hours at a time, to clear his head. He always returned and each time he did he was in a better mood than he had been when he left. Though this time, it was different.

X

This time, he had not left. She entered the kitchen and found him exactly where he had been less than half an hour before; sitting on the floor, supervising the construction of yet another tower.

It took all she had not to rush over to him, apologising profusely. She approached with caution, making her footfalls obvious so that he would know she was there. He did not move away. He did not even look up. Slowly, she reached for him.

"Ron..." She whispered.

Finally, he turned around. "Hey." He gestured to the blocks with his free hand. "Do you want to join in?"

"Ron," she murmured. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "What does it look like? I'm his father. It's what I'm supposed to do." Hugo shifted in his father's lap, reaching for another block.

Her eyes filled with tears, she wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. I had to say something... but we can fix it. We can fix it with a memory charm..." Ron set his son on his feet, before rising himself. He got up, pacing up and down the kitchen. Eventually, catching sight of his wife's face he stopped.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Hermione looked back at him, her eyes portraying her confusion.

"Everything I have I'd give it up, if it meant I could give them a future. I'd do anything for them, because they're everything to me. I know they mean everything to you too. They are your children too. They will take your name and go to the school your family has gone to for decades and they'll make us proud."

He pulled her to her feet, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. She looked straight back at him into the eyes she loved. The eyes of not only her husband, but her son and daughter too.

"The white lies aren't important. We both know the truth and that's what matters."


End file.
